Nestled in the rolling Westchester countryside is the gracious home and farm of John Jay (1745-1829), one of America's principal Founding Fathers. Jay co-authored the Treaty of Paris, which ended the Revolutionary War, and the Federalist Papers, which aided ratification of the U.S. Constitution. He served as President of the Continental Congress, U.S. Secretary for Foreign Affairs, first Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, and the second governor of New York State.

During many years of devoted service to the State and the Nation, he looked forward to the day when he would retire with his wife and children to "the house on my farm in Westchester County..." The land where John Jay lived his later years was purchased in 1703 by his maternal grandfather, Jacobus Van Cortlandt. By 1800 Jay had acquired, by inheritance and by purchase, 750 acres of property near Bedford, New York. In 1799 he began construction of a comfortable 24-room farmhouse. He moved there in 1801, after his retirement from politics. Tragically, Jay's wife Sarah died only months after moving to their new home. John Jay never remarried and lived as a gentleman farmer until his death in 1829. His son William (1789-1858) inherited the house and farm; he later became a leading figure in the struggle to end slavery. William's son John Jay II (1817-1894) inherited the property and upon his death it was given to his son Colonel William Jay (1841-1915). The Colonels' daughter, Eleanor Jay Iselin (1882-1953) was the last of the family to use the property as a full time residence.In 1958 the house and thirty of the original acres were purchased from Eleanor Jay Iselin's heirs by Westchester County and transferred to the State of New York, which opened it to the public in 1964 as John Jay Homestead State Historic Site. The historic house is open most of the year, and can be seen by a guided tour through twelve beautifully furnished period rooms, restored to an 1820's appearance. Specialized tours and education programs are available by appointment.

The historic site now encompasses sixty-two acres, including lovingly-tended formal gardens, magnificent woodland walks, rolling meadows, and a cluster of 19th century farm buildings. An 1820's schoolhouse and an 1830s barn are open for touring. John Jay Homestead hosts special events throughout the year. Private events can be held at the site by special arrangement. Please call the site for additional information.

John Jay Homestead presents: Moments in Time: Photographs from the Jay Collection, a special exhibit now open in the Back Parlor Gallery. Moments in Time presents photographs of Jay family members between 1840s and 1930s and captures their lives at home, at play, travelling the world, and at the service of their country in war and peace.

Photographs presented include those taken of Jay family members in Vienna by Austrian Imperial Court photographers in the 1870s, and an original Matthew Brady photograph of a Jay family wedding party on the front steps of the main house from 1863. Also included are rare daguerreotypes taken of Jays before the Civil War and early 20th century photo albums showing family members on vacation and enjoying recreation.

The exhibit can be viewed during regular tours of the John Jay Homestead historic house museum. All photographs, reproductions and albums on display are part of the John Jay Homestead's archival collection.

Don't miss these popular destinations and attractions within or near the historic site:

Carriage Barn Education & Visitor's Center

The Farm Road-part of the Bedford Riding Lanes Association trails for horse riders

The Formal Gardens-located through the white gate, a fountain and sundial form the centers, beautifully maintained by the Bedford Garden Club

The "Ha-ha's"-tall barriers built to keep grazing livestock from getting near the house, but invisible when looking down the lawn

The Herb Garden-created in 1991 on the site of an historic cutting garden and greenhouse. Maintained by the Herb Society.

Ice Pond-created for producing ice in the winter to use year-round, now a picturesque spot. The road down to the pond is part of the Tree Walk, lined with Red Maples

North Court Garden-on the north side of the main house, between the wings. It beautifies the accessible entrance as well as displays a sampling of plants around the site. Maintained by the Hopp Ground Garden Club

Picnic area-picnic benches are scattered throughout the picturesque site

Fees & Rates

Most New York State Parks charge a vehicle use fee to enter the facility. Fees vary by location and season. A list of entry fees and other park use fees is available below. For fees not listed or to verify information, please contact the park directly.

The easy-to-use Empire Pass card is $80- and your key to all-season enjoyment with unlimited day-use entry at most facilities operated by State Parks and the State Dept. of Environmental Conservation including forests, beaches, trails and more. Purchase online or contact your favorite park for more information.
Learn more about our Admission Programs including the Empire Pass.

Admission for House Tour(includes Exhibit Gallery)

$10 Adults$7 Seniors/StudentsChildren 12 and under Free

School programs and group tours should contact the park office directly.

Brick Yard

$3,000/day

Maps

John Jay Homestead State Historic Site invites you and your class to learn about the life of Founding Father John Jay and to explore the exciting times in which he lived. The historic house has been restored to look as it did during John Jay's lifetime. Students get a first-hand look at the changing nature of everyday life by comparing today's lifestyles with those of Jay's era. A variety of programs allow teachers to select visits or outreach programs that complement and coincide with their own curriculum. All age groups use the house and furnishings as a resource to develop enthusiasm for the past and an understanding of the founding of the United States.

John Jay Homestead has developed all education programs to meet current State and Common Core curriculum standards. These programs encourage students to use the critical thinking skills of a historian or social scientist by requiring them to read, analyze, apply, synthesize and evaluate historical information.

The education staff will work with teachers to design programs around specific curriculum needs such as Document Based Questions.

What about the cost?The fee for an on-site visit is $2.00 or $3.00 per student depending on the program. All of our programs can be done either on-site or in the classroom. These programs have been made possible in part through contributions from Friends of John Jay Homestead, Inc. The Margaret Mayo-Smith Bus Fund provides funding for transportation to the site for schools that demonstrate need.

When can we schedule a visit?Please visit the Availability Calendar to view when John Jay Homestead State Historic Site is available.

Do we offer an Outreach Program?Yes, we do. Our outreach program is a flat fee of $50.00 per class. All of our programs can be done in the classroom. Please call Bethany White, our Education Coordinator, at 914.232.5651 ext 101 or email at bethany.white@oprhp.state.ny.us for more information on the Outreach Program.

Grades K-4

Then and Now:This program allows students to compare and contrast their everyday life with the way the Jay family lived here in the early 1800's. By looking at objects such as chamber pots and open hearth toasters, students become historic detectives using their analytical skills to determine the objects purpose. Students are also asked to look at items in the home and try to "guess" their modern equivalents, (e.g. the mortar and pestle is the colonial version of the blender). As well as the tour of the home, students discuss the difference in urban/rural/suburban locations. Finally, students will participate in colonial games as well as making a colonial craft they can take home with them.

Grades K-12

John Jay's Farm: This program utilizes the historic structures on the property as well as a series of maps to discuss the evolution of agriculture and how technological advances affected the industry.

Grades 4-8

John Jay, Revolutionary Spymaster:Why does the CIA have a room at its Liaison Conference Center named after John Jay? Widely celebrated for his political achievements, it is often overlooked that John Jay played an important role in creating a Patriot spy network to help defeat the British during the American Revolution. Students will move through the Homestead learning about New York's defense, the split loyalties of its inhabitants, different spying techniques and historical anecdotes about important political figures.

Grades 6-12

John Jay and the Constitution: What's the difference between a President and a King? What are taxes for? What did the Constitution say about slavery? What kind of federal government might New Yorkers want, and was that different from, say, residents of frontier states, or states in the South? Why was it so important that New York ratify the Constitution, if there were already enough supporting states to make it become law? How much power should states have?

Moving through the historic house and using objects from our collection and documents from the Jay archives, students will explore how states with very different economies and interests, having just fought a long, expensive and bloody war against a king, agreed to come together and adopt a government with strong powers.

Grades 8-12

Slavery, Slavery and the Jay Family: What is the difference between a servant and a slave? What is the difference between abolition and manumission? Why did many of the Founding Fathers historic house museum and study primary sources, including objects and documents, your students will come to understand John Jay's conflicting attitudes as slave owner and manumission advocate and learn about his son William's role in the abolition movement. They will also learn about the lives of some of the actual servants and slaves who lived at the Homestead. continue to own slaves as they established a new nation where "all men are created equal?" We provide an immersive, hands-on experience that will help your students answer these and other probative questions.

After a lifetime of public service, John Jay and his family retired to his farm in Bedford in 1801. Jay had been the chief negotiator of the Treaty of Paris, and had served as Chief Justice, Secretary for Foreign Affairs and as a two-term Governor of New York. Jay's wife, Sarah, died shortly after moving to Bedford and Jay never remarried. Upon John Jay's death in 1829, the farm and home were inherited by William Jay, John's second son. William Jay became a prominent leader of abolitionists, and the Homestead became a center in the anti-slavery movement.

Holiday Tours: Thursdays – Saturdays, December 1 – 31; 1pm, 2pm, 3pm.

Celebrate the holiday season at John Jay Homestead with a guided tour of John Jay's historic Bedford House focusing on the holiday traditions and decorations of the 1820s. Tours are offered on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 1pm, 2pm, and 3pm. Admission is $10 for adults, $7 for seniors and students with ID, children 12 and under and members of Friends of John Jay Homestead are free. Tickets are sold out of the glass porch in the Main house, to the left of the front porch.

John Jay Homestead State Historic Site's current special exhibition, Reflections On Our Past: A Viewer Response Exhibit, is presently on view in the museum's Back Parlor Gallery. The exhibit includes a wide variety of objects that are taken from the site's collection storage rooms, things that are not normally displayed. The objects are not thematically or chronologically linked. Some are true treasures, while others are everyday objects: everything from John Jay's 18th-century silver shoe buckles to a Civil War period sword, from portraits to rare documents, from old tools to precious luxury objects. An equally wide variety of people from the community, including scholars, neighbors, and schoolchildren, were invited to select an object and submit a creative response to it. Some contributed essays, others poems, and still others drawings and photographs. Their responses can be viewed in guidebooks available in the gallery. The result is a wide-ranging exhibit that will be interesting to all ages.

Reflections On Our Past can be viewed both as part of a regular tour of the historic house, and by itself, during special gallery hours held on Sundays from noon to 2:00, and on Mondays from 10:00 to noon.

Sarah, Nancy, Eleanor and the rest! Six generations of strong, educated women lived at John Jay’s Bedford House. Their stories shed light on the roles of women in upper class homes in the eighteenth, nineteenth, and early twentieth centuries. Regular admission fees. Advance purchase of tickets is suggested as space is limited – www.johnjayhomestead.org. 2:00pm | Location: Glass Porch of Bedford House | $10 adults; $7 seniors & students; Free for members and children under 12 Thursday, March 14 –

Happy Birthday Thomas Jefferson! John Jay and Thomas Jefferson were adversaries during their political careers, but had a mutual affinity for each other that led to a friendship during their retirement. Advance purchase of tickets is suggested as space is limited – www.johnjayhomestead.org.

2:00pm | Location: Glass Porch of Bedford House | $10 adults; $7 seniors & students; Free for members and children under 12

Founding Father John Jay was a native son of New York City, but the city he knew was not the metropolis we know today. This tour takes us along many of the same streets John Jay walked as we visit locations where he lived, worked, played, and prayed. Plan to walk approximately 2 miles during this 3-hour tour. Advance registration required - www.johnjayhomestead.org.

10:00am | Location: Lower Manhattan location of tour meet up will be emailed with registration confirmation | $20; $15 members of Friends of John Jay Homestead

Join the Bedford Garden Club and Rusticus Garden Club for a lecture by Andrea Wulf who reveals in her book the extraordinary life of the visionary German naturalist Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) and how he created the way we understand nature today.

On May 18, 1768, Thomas Jefferson began to build Monticello. His home, along with those of the John Jay and the other Founders, allow us to understand the men and women who started our nation as individuals, family members, and home owners. Regular admission fees. Advance purchase of tickets is suggested as space is limited.